Citizen monitors flag ‘ghost’ coordinates, unfinished infra projects

MANILA, Philippines – At the formal launch of Bisto Proyekto at the Adamson University Theater on Saturday morning, February 21, organizers outlined the scale of the country’s trillion-peso infrastructure mess.

Although some projects were listed as complete, citizen monitors reported problems on the ground.

Lost coordinates

In Naga City, monitors went to Julian Meliton Elementary School to inspect a P4.9-million drainage canal reported as finished in 2024. 

The inspection team reported a major technical red flag: the project’s official coordinates on the DPWH portal pointed to a location behind a nearby mall, far from the actual school site. 

“This project is worth P4.9 million and it has 64.56 linear meters. So, while we were actually circling around the project, we discovered that the coordinates [provided are] in a relatively long portion, near the back of a mall,” citizen watch Bel from Bikol Laban sa Korapsyon described in his live report.

This discrepancy in geotagging is often used to mislead state auditors, making it difficult to verify if the work was actually performed at the intended site.

Not a match

In Manila, citizen monitors from the Rover Circle Scouts 23 Musketeers inspected a retention basin project designed to protect the university belt. The group documented visible cracks in concrete barriers and trash-clogged drainage inlets.

“We noticed that the constructed concrete barriers are already destroyed and showing corrosion,” Derick Chan reported, one of the youth monitors from the scouting group. 

According to the residents they interviewed in the area, the water used to be free-flowing along Estero de San Miguel to the Legarda drainage pump before 2024 and the COVID-19 pandemic, not until when the retention basin was constructed. 

“Upon checking with the information provided in the Bisto Proyekto website, the dates of completion posted in the website and in the ‘signage’ of the notice of implementation did not match,” Chan added in a mix of Filipino and English.

The scouts also interviewed residents who complained that the construction was “on-and-off,” leaving the area hazardous for pedestrians without proper safety barriers or project signages.

Not consulted, unfinished

One of the most expensive projects inspected was a P140-million flood mitigation structure along the rivers of Barangay Mabolo in Naga City. While the project looked impressive from a distance, residents pointed out a fatal design flaw: the structure lacked proper outflows.

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Local officials also expressed frustration that they were never consulted during the planning phase. 

“That is the big question for me as a barangay official. We were not told what they would [build] or where,” the barangay councilor shared in an interview with the Naga City People’s Council chairperson. 

Monitors noted that while 500 meters of riprap were promised, only a portion was properly concreted, with the rest appearing unfinished or substandard.

Need for immediate response

In a moment of real-time accountability, DPWH Undersecretary Nick Conti, watching the reports from the Adamson University Theater stage, immediately texted the regional public works director to demand a report on the Mabolo project in Naga City.

“We are dependent not only on our normal evaluation of roads or roads, [also] on social media. We are looking at it and immediately we are taking action,” Conti said. “So please keep on reporting.”

The public reports during the Bisto Proyekto’s citizen monitoring segment still need further assessments and verification, but it showed how the general public can participate. 

The hope for the project is to ensure that these citizen “bisto” (discovery) moments lead to actual legal accountability for erring contractors and officials. 

“There has to be a response [from the government]. And I think the response, number one, is hopefully to prevent projects from being done in a poor way in the future. Tama na dapat yung gagawin nilang projects (They should undertake construction projects properly),” PHINMA Corporation CEO Ramon del Rosario Jr. said during the panel discussion with the public works undersecretary.

“But secondly, the erring contractors and government officials should really be held accountable,” he added.

Report to the Ombudsman

“Perhaps it is time that whenever there is flooding, a broken road, or piles of uncollected garbage, our first thought should always be: who is accountable for these irregularities?” lawyer Mei Mananghaya-Henson of the Office of the Ombudsman said in response to the citizen reports during the program. 

She also clarified that the process of reporting cases is designed to be accessible to the common Filipino, regardless of their background or legal knowledge.

“The Office of the Ombudsman can act on any complaints in whatever form or manner, even if there is no attached evidence to it,” the representative of the Ombudsman said.

Addressing the fear of gathering evidence, Mananghaya-Henson assured the public that they are not alone in the fight.

“We have a fact-finding investigation arm. So, this means we will help you gather evidence to support and eventually file it for preliminary investigation and administrative adjudication,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino. – Rappler.com